Tatum, Brown among players NBA front offices most want to build with

The Boston Celtics have two of some of the most-wanted talent among NBA front office employees recently polled would most want to build around.

The Boston Celtics are among the best set-up franchises for future growth in the NBA in the eyes of rival general managers and other front office staff according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.

In a recent article, Scotto polled a total of 15 NBA talent evaluators from a list of four GMs, six execs and five scouts on which young talent in the league they would most like to build around, and why.

The Celtics turn out to be one of only two teams with multiple players recorded among participants — the other being the New Orleans Pelicans with Zion Williamson (No. 7) and Brandon Ingram (No. 9) — with Jaylen Brown clocking in at 11th overall and Jayson Tatum being granted the second-most such nominations.

“Tatum’s size and offensive skills are what appeals me to him,” shared one of the participating scouts.

“He has the ability to be someone you play through and can have a high-level offense,” they added. “He can get his shot off against anyone and still be efficient. He needs to improve his passing a little bit, but considering the gains that he’s made with his game year to year, he’s going to get there. Also, his improvements on the defensive end show his competitive spirit, and I would imagine that he’s going to continue to improve on that end.”

“He a two-way player who’s better than Paul George,” offered a Western Conference executive. “He can get to the basket, shoot three-pointers off the dribble, and he guards the best perimeter player.”

“[Tatum is] an up-and-coming superstar player,” noted an anonymous Eastern Conference executive in response to Scotto’s inquiry. “He’s getting better every game.”

Trailing only the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic (who appeared on 100% of respondents’ lists) and just ahead of the Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker, the Duke product was listed on 64% of the evaluator’s lists.

Brown was tied statistically with the Sacramento Kings’ De’Aaron Fox to be on 4% of the responses, ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns and just behind Ingram in the returns.

One of the polled executives also ranked Brown as the “third player overall he’d build his team around,” but noted they were “higher on the Celtics forward than others.”

Abstract projections of futures aside, the duo is tearing things up in the NBA for Boston in the present, so it makes sense that the pair would be among the league’s most attractive to build with for the future.

And thanks to Danny Ainge (and, perhaps in a roundabout way, Anthony Davis), both are likely to don the green and white together for some time to come.

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